Chapter 82

After taking breaks, the meeting that lasted for two days finally came to an end. Despite the length of the meeting, the strategy that emerged as a result was simple.

"Send me alone, equipped with as much gear as possible."

This was the conclusion. The reason for not preparing other combatants was not to reduce casualties or cut costs. The reason was as follows:

Weapons effective against dragons could not be prepared in large numbers. Moreover, to use them, one had to get close to the dragon. Even with the assumption of a special attack, it would result in the wasteful use of valuable weapons. On the other hand, if I were to go, even if I were defeated, the loss would be limited, as I wouldn't be carrying any valuable items. Additionally, with the item box, my carrying capacity was virtually unlimited, and unused weapons wouldn't be destroyed by attacks. I also had mobility and could even use ship-mounted weapons in the air under certain circumstances. The only one that could have been of help, the Dragon Killer, was currently under repair and in no condition to participate in combat.

Of course, handling unfamiliar weapons was not an easy task. For this reason, I received several weapons and moved around to learn how to use them. Specifically, these included acceleration magic devices that could accelerate a person to a speed that would normally be fatal for a normal human (made by a team of excellent magic device craftsmen, including Catherine, but unfortunately, only 23 could be made due to material limitations) and explosive magic devices with the best possible performance (the ones I was trying to make when the dragon appeared had lost their effectiveness due to the dragon's influence). The most surprising item was the main cannon of the Dragon Killer. I was taught how to handle it, though not the detailed principles, and managed to learn how to fire it. It was lent to me in a state where it was almost part of the ship, and I was asked to bring back the ammunition if I won, preferably without breaking it.

Just a moment ago, I had been collecting magic swords from various places. Magic swords were once ordinary weapons and are still found in various facilities, but they are dangerous for the general public and are usually stored in warehouses, wrapped securely. Since transporting them takes time, I had to go and collect them myself. It seemed that the word had spread, as people were not surprised to see me collecting magic swords from the sky. Some towns had evacuated nearby residents to safer locations, and I was curious about what kind of story had been told. Of course, I slowed down to avoid shockwaves, and there were no actual damages. Thus, the preparations proceeded steadily.

And so, the time to depart arrived. I was to leave Fotoren and head to the area where I had fought the dragon last time. About 200 people, including guild officials, craftsmen, and merchants, gathered at the port to see me off, but this was apparently fewer than expected. The success rate of the operation would decrease if it were delayed by even a day, so a grand send-off ceremony was not held, and those who would take a long time to travel to Fotoren were not invited.

"Then, I'm off."

"Good luck!" the guild officials said, all with the same words, though some were a bit out of sync, which was charming.

"Please come back safely!"

"Bring back high-quality materials alive!"

"Please crush the enemy with the power of our magic devices!"

The words of the craftsmen and merchants varied. The dragon's existence was only known to those involved in the operation to avoid panic, so many of the merchants did not know that this was a dragon hunt. However, they seemed to realize that I was going to fight a powerful enemy, and many looked worried. On the other hand, the guild officials and craftsmen who knew the situation were more composed, perhaps because they knew that everything that could be done had been done.

Many people in the town were watching from a distance, and it seemed they had realized this was related to the rumors about the Dragon Killer's damage and the skilled craftsmen suddenly stopping their usual work. They seemed to be cheering me on, though they might not have known exactly what they were cheering for.

With such encouragement, I took off from the port and accelerated to a degree that wouldn't affect the surroundings. I was holding one of the anchors that matched the one placed on the seabed near the dragon's appearance site, so I wouldn't get lost. The journey by ship had felt long due to the attacks, but from the air, it felt much shorter. The scenery was also pleasant, and after flying a certain distance, the land became a vast grassland with no trees. The landscape of the forest, which had been the domain of monsters, was not very pleasant, as it had been burned by the dragon.

However, the weather was not very good. Dark, thick clouds covered parts of the sky, and it was quite dark in some places, even though it was morning. It had not rained, but this had been the situation since the dragon battle, apparently due to the influence of magic particles.

While flying over the former monster domain, I noticed a place where the grass had disappeared in a 30-meter radius along the coast. As I passed it, the anchor that had been pointing forward suddenly reversed direction. This seemed to be the location of the previous battle. The terrain and scenery had changed so much that I hadn't recognized it, but the shape of the land was similar.

Here, I would use the Wispy Core to cause an explosion, just like last time, but this time I would be alone. My battles with strong enemies had mostly been solo, and perhaps I was suited for solo missions.

While thinking about this, I set the Wispy Core and a timed explosive magic device in the center of the area where the grass had disappeared. The first equipment I would use was a conventional magic sword and an acceleration magic device. The purpose of the magic sword was obvious, but the magic device was intended for emergency retreats or when I needed to put extra power into an attack. I wouldn't wield two magic swords in both hands to concentrate the power gained from acceleration into one spot. Initially, I had planned to wield two weapons, but experiments showed that resistance would quickly reduce my speed, so I changed my plan. The power of a two-handed weapon is greater.

After confirming that there were no issues with both, I activated the magic device. At the same time, I performed a near-maximum acceleration upward without depleting my MP. The ideal scenario was to decapitate the dragon before it entered combat mode, just like last time, and then absorb the magic particles with the magic devices. The number of magic swords and devices was limited, and some of the magic swords had special shapes that made them difficult to handle, so I wanted to maximize the power of a single strike, even if it meant relying on gravity.

As I ascended to just below the clouds, the bomb exploded. Almost simultaneously, a black mist-like substance appeared around the explosion and gathered at the blast site. About six seconds later, when the sound of the explosion reached my ears, the dragon was almost fully formed. ...It was huge. The ancient documents said it was about 50 meters long, but from here, it looked more like 1.5 times that. The neck was about 1.5 to 2 meters thick, and cutting it would be a challenge. Even if I didn't completely sever it, the dragon wouldn't die like a human with a single cut. From my experience with sub-dragons, I knew I would need to almost completely sever it.

Judging that the current sword's length and strength were insufficient for the unexpectedly large size, I chose a thick, 1.5-meter-long sword from the approximately 200 magic swords, which was clearly not something a human could wield. However, for me, supporting a regular sword and this large sword made little difference. After confirming that the dragon was fully formed, I began my descent while accelerating with magic. Despite being a fully formed dragon, it didn't seem to be very alert to threats from above, and it didn't notice me until I was about 500 meters high. To start with an advantage, I used the acceleration magic device again. At the same time, an intense pressure that would have killed a normal human was applied, and I accelerated far beyond my previous speed.

I collided with the dragon's unprotected neck at a speed I had never experienced before. The dragon let out a roar. An immense force was applied to my hands and shoulders, and I felt a part of my arm break as the blade was worn down. I might have been paralyzed, but I didn't feel any pain. I felt the recoil from the sudden deceleration in my neck and legs, but to maximize the impact, I continued to use the acceleration magic even as I fell.

Although it felt like a long time, my descent was quickly halted, and I came to a stop. I shifted to a flying position and began to absorb magic particles to counter the dragon's magic grasp, which I had avoided using until now to focus on attacking. As expected, I became a perfect target for the living dragon. An attack from its tail approached as I tried to withdraw with the sword. Based on my experience, I judged that I could dodge it and activated horizontal acceleration magic. However, contrary to my expectations, the tail grazed my leg. Although it didn't break, the attack from the massive body was powerful, and I felt a significant drain on my magic armor. It was better than having it broken from lack of replenishment, but I wanted to avoid being hit as much as possible. I had lost about 10% of my magic power in total.

While recovering with magic and preparing for the next attack, I noticed that the sword had been reduced to half its original thickness. I realized why I had been slow in dodging. The sword was heavy. I hadn't noticed it when I was stationary or falling, but the weight not only made it hard to support but also hard to move. As long as I carried a heavy weapon, my movement would be slower than usual. If I tried to draw a weapon while accelerating, I would experience sudden deceleration. I couldn't do anything about it before attacking, but I would put the weapon away after attacking.

I had a limited number of large swords and magic devices, and my magic power also had limits. From the previous attack, I estimated that a smaller sword would lack the necessary firepower. I interrupted the slight drain of magic power by reactivating the magic absorption. My ability to absorb magic was a skill, not a passive ability, so I couldn't just activate it and leave it. The dragon had not yet entered combat mode. The only way to win was to use the large sword for a quick battle. I put away the large sword I had been using and stored it in the item box. I then accelerated to gain distance, turned around, and readied a new large sword.